Glossary

Displaced Persons - Historical Film Footage

Media Essay

Displaced Persons - Historical Film Footage

US military chiefs visit displaced persons camp

Your browser does not support the video tag.

In this footage, General Dwight Eisenhower, General George Patton, and Major General Lewis Craig inspect conditions at the Feldafing displaced persons camp near Wolfratshausen, Germany. Feldafing was one of the first displaced persons camps to house primarily Jewish refugees. In August 1945, Eisenhower ordered that Feldafing be used as a model for the establishment of other camps for Jewish displaced persons in the US occupation zones of Germany and Austria.

Jewish refugees cross into Italy

Your browser does not support the video tag.

The postwar movement of about 250,000 mainly eastern European Jewish survivors to displaced persons camps and to the West, with the goal of reaching Palestine, was known as the "Brihah" ("flight"). Here, Jewish refugees cross illegally into Italy, probably to charter a ship to sail to Palestine. The British restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine and deported "illegal" immigrants to detention camps in Cyprus.

Displaced persons camp in Austria

Your browser does not support the video tag.

After World War II, the Allies repatriated millions of displaced persons (DPs) back to their countries of origin. But hundreds of thousands of people, including more than 250,000 Jewish refugees, could not or would not return. Most Jewish DPs preferred to leave Europe for either Palestine or the United States. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) housed them in camps in occupied Germany and Austria until they could be resettled. Here, Jewish DPs raise their children in the camps, preparing them for eventual emigration to Palestine.

Zionist protest rally in Zeilsheim camp

Your browser does not support the video tag.

After World War II, the Allies repatriated millions of displaced persons (DPs) to their countries of origin. But hundreds of thousands of people, including more than 250,000 Jewish refugees, could not or would not return. Most Jewish DPs preferred to leave Europe for either Palestine or the United States. The Allies housed them in camps in occupied Germany until they could be resettled. Here, Jewish Zionists protest their continued confinement in Zeilsheim displaced persons camp in Germany. They demand that they be permitted to emigrate to Palestine.